Godzilla, the latest of the franchise will be released May 16th next year, and recently we have seen an abundance of information on the film. We now know who the cast will be (mostly) and we some short footage of behind the scenes as well as newly released images. The main reason for this article is that we haven’t updated the news on this film since Comic Con, and with some substantial news and updates it felt necessary to share with our wonderful readers.
Godzilla Plot
Official Synopsis:
A giant radioactive monster called Godzilla awakens from eons of sleep and attacks a city.
Well that’s creative and new. Well done Warner Bros. Before we go onto the cast, images and behind the scenes footage we should talk about the prospect of this film being good or bad. On the one side you have Frank Darabont as a screenwriter, the man is brilliant and the master mind to many great films and TV Shows. Mainly The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist and The Walking Dead. However I fear that the Director Gareth Edwards is a little inexperienced to be in charge of such a large production, also I didn’t think his debut film Monsters was all that good. Fear and doubt surround this film for fans of the franchise.
The Cast of Godzilla
Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson (Kick Ass) will be the lead in this film as a Soldier. That is all we know for now and whilst he was good in Kick Ass lately he has looked more and more like a massive douche.
Ken Watanabe
Ken Watanabe is in this film and that’s pretty much it, again not much has been revealed but he is a well-respected Japanese Actor and a personal favourite so will most likely be the main Japanese character. Actually turns out be the only Japanese actor announced which seems strange for a Godzilla film.
Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche and Bryan Cranston
We know nothing about any of their roles in the film except that Elizabeth Olsen is Aaron’s characters girlfriend and that Bryan Cranston is someone’s stepfather.
Whilst most people will recognise the cast none of them are exactly big star and this could hurt the film’s box office because none of them will be a mass draw for viewers.
Behind the Scenes Footage
We have three videos that have been released which show behind the scenes footage of the filming of Godzilla. First we have a 15 second tease with the director, then a series of “action” takes from the film which show practically nothing as you’d expect this early on.
Set Photos Leaked
Let’s face it we all just want to keep this classic going.
Hey, how about that? We finally advanced the plot in Game of Thrones! I say that somewhat jokingly but we all have to admit that it’s been pretty quiet with all the introductions of new characters and the reintroduction of everyone’s storylines, so when we finally see things happening, it’s a bit of a jolt to the senses. “Walk of Punishment” starts delving into some good stuff and is a great watch as we see Rob Stark get some great scenes, as well as Jamie Lannister and Tyrion. Hell, we even got a rock song version of “The Bear and The Maiden Fair”, which caught me off guard. Granted, the end of the episode helped with that as well but we’ll talk about that later…
The episode begins with the funeral of Rob Stark’s grandfather and a bunch of botched attempts from his Uncle Edmund Tully in lighting the funeral pyre. Obviously after a few attempts, Rob can’t contain himself despite the fact it’s a funeral. Granted, it’s one of the few smiles we’ve seen of him so he deserves a bit of a break here. We also (finally) get an introduction to Blackfish Tully, who (was in the first book) definitely hits the mark on the boat. I feel it has something to do with him being a badass. Anyways, with the smiles gone, we also get Rob finally taking control and acting like a king in reprimanding Edmund for screwing with his plans in trying to win battles as opposed to the war. A great scene for Richard Madden in where he grapples for control and we needed more Rob Stark. He’s the friggin’ King of the North so we needed more of him than random check ups. Regardless, at Riverrun, we also get Catelyn and Blackfish reminisce about her dear old stubborn father. She then gets sad as she remembers waiting for him to come back from battle and relates it to the fact she might never see any of her kids as they wait for her and Rob. Blackfish acknowledges her grief but then basically tells her to man up, because she has to be strong and show that faith remains that everyone is alright. Otherwise, what would Rob Stark be fighting so hard for? Again, good scene although we get it at this point, Catelyn is not holding up well and it’s starting to show.
We also get an update at King’s Landing with Tywin, Cersei, Tyrion, and the rest of the Small Council. Everyone has a place at the table as they move into position to be closer to Tywin. Cersei moves to the right of her father as the rest of the council moves into position in order to establish themselves, not like kids fighting for attention from their dad. And Tyrion? He knows what he’s doing as he sits across from the long table and makes a commotion dragging his chair from one side of the room to the other. He is less impressed in making a play to get the attention of the father that has shunned him. I thought this was the best scene of the episode as it typifies the constant chess match that Game of Thrones has been known for. Constant power struggles and positioning made this scene extremely entertaining with the lack of dialogue and action for a few minutes and it worked to perfection. At least Cersei thought so too.
Anyways, Littlefinger gets the wonderful task of marrying Lysa, the crazy breast-feeding sister of Catelyn, in order to draw support away from Rob Stark and his forces. Granted it also means Littlefinger has to deal with the mayor of crazytown, but if it means he gets to be an actual Lord, he’ll just about hold her kid up for the meal himself. That also means that Tyrion draws Littlefinger’s old job as Master of Coin. Pretty much a thankless job in managing the books that brings zero joy to one’s own self-worth. Just like a real accounting job. As Tyrion gathers the books, he finally gives his squire the best present of his life. Or any heterosexual teenage male’s life for that matter.
Three prostitutes for saving his life? It makes me want to scour Michigan to find a little person in trouble and save them to see what happens. Anyways, Tyrion pays his way and comes to find out that the kid didn’t need the money and that they accepted him and deflowered for free. This piques Tyrion’s interest and immediately asks for details. Hilarious I must add as him and his protector as confused and just want to know more on how this could actually happen.
Anyways, we also get an update from the Jon Snow group, which gets a nice little Godfather introduction with some horse’s heads and a few body parts as well. Mance Rayder splits the group off to attack the wall and Jon Snow will be the way in. Looks like loyalties will be tested pretty soon. Speaking of conundrums, we get an update from what’s left of the King’s Watch group as they arrive at Craster’s Keep. Sam gets made fun of for his portly shape as we hear a woman’s screams in the background. Giving birth tends to do that and as Sam goes to investigates, he commits the cardinal sin of witness and watching the birthing occur. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty sure that when a part of bringing a baby in the world, it would be a marvelous experience but crap, I would be scarred for life if I was anywhere but behind my wife because that would ruin all the happy thoughts in my head. But he witnesses a future crime about to happen as the baby turns out to be a boy…and we all know what happens to boys at Craster’s Keep.
Theon finally breaks out and despite having what must be an infection in his mangled foot, he gets to riding in order to escape his captors. Naturally they catch up to him and we get a pretty cool and intense chase scene and he catches a morning star directly to the chest which definitely knocks him the hell down. He does get saved through from Legolas. Okay, not Legolas but from his savior friend (Iwan Rheon) from the keep. Also, is it just me but have archers dominated this season? I blame Katniss Everdeen. But it looks like Theon has an angel overlooking him and his black cloud. He just happens to be an angel from Misfits.
Courtesy of Prettylabia
We also see Dany back in Astapor as she navigates the streets of the slave city and debates what it must take in order to win the Iron Throne back. The sacrifices of innocents and using an army of slaves in order to get what she wants. Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan go back and forth between what is right and what is wrong, as well as what it takes to win and the casualties, whether innocent or guilty, that will pile up along the way. Knowing Game of Thrones, there’s going to be a lot of both parties as Dany struggles with the right decision. She ends up going for the 8000 strong slave army but the cost is so exorbitant, it requires one of her dragons, which she gives up despite the objections of Ser Jorah. She also gets the translator woman (who did manage to clean up the translation so as not to get fileted by the dragons by insulting the Dragon Queen) and they look to become fast friends as she wants to protect the people who come along with her, probably something slaves aren’t used to.
This brings us to Jamie Lannister and Brienne. Jamie knows that once they make camp, the men are going to make a run at her and tells her not to resist but of course, what woman wouldn’t resist if going through such a vile act. Despite the differences, you feel Jamie respects her, probably moreso after she beats him in a sword fight earlier. When the awful time comes, Jamie bargains with his captors for her escaping that fate, riches upon riches if they let them be. Jamie thinks he has it in the bag but it looks like they are well versed on his verbal charisma and are having none of it. We then get treated to his punishment and if that wasn’t disorienting enough, we get a rock version of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” from The Hold Steady. Like I said, that just threw me the heck off but I loved this episode. A lot of stuff happened and we were treated to some great scenes. Of course, we have the song below and a preview of the next episode and some exclusive stills that looks familiar as Game of Thrones pays homage to another great show. Enjoy my friends.
For a lot of people the date April the 14th 1956 will mean nothing. But for VHS fans far and wide this was the birth of something very special. It was on this date at the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters Convention that the first VHS machine was revealed to awe-struck onlookers. The machine was the Ampex VRX-100. Looking at it now it appears a strange machine, but you can see the basic structure that would be incorporated into the more popular VCR players that helped to revolutionize the home entertainment business that we know of today. For more information on this epic event from near 60 years ago, you can read this transcript by Charles P.Ginsburg on Labguysworld website which goes into more detail.
So what does this have to do with YouTube? Well The Verge has reported that to celebrate this historic event for the fans of the VHS genre, YouTube has put a VHS button on random videos in their catalog that gives the video you are watching that VHS grainy and jumpy feel. Look on the video you are watching and there will be a little VHS icon which when selected gives the desired effect. Below is one of the videos that has the VHS option.
As a fan of VHS myself I found it a fun little quirky option for videos, but it did not entirely feel like the VHS viewing on an actually VCR player and feels a little to exaggerated for my tastes. Still this is yet another sign that VHS is rising from the ashes and for people who have no idea what the format looked like it is a great trip to the past. I did have problems with some YouTube videos with this option that it did not load the application properly, but do not be disheartened. Keep trying those videos and relive the era of the tapes.
Recently a whole bunch of new posters were revealed for some of the most anticipated new Hollywood blockbuster releases. The event took place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the annual CinemaCon (formerly called ShoWest) event. This is where major Hollywood studios give exclusive glimpses into their new products. Below are some of the more interesting posters displayed on that day.
All of these look stunning but what caught my eye was the teaming of Ryan Reynolds and a very steam punk looking Jeff Bridges in R.I.P.D. The Hangover part 3 has the most interesting designed poster, with its gatefold cover parodying pretty much every other Hollywood blockbuster poster out there. To see more of these posters please check out the Cinema Blend website.
Before that though look at the posters that were shown on Hollywood Reporter showing the incredible looking Pacific Rim movie directed by Guillermo del Torro. My favorite poster is the retro styled war posters mimicking the enlisting posters of old.
All in all some pretty impressive film posters have come out recently. Here is hoping that the movies live up to the posters hype. Keep checking Grizzly Bomb to find out if they do.
The strongest part of the new Hangover III trailer is how heavily it focuses on Zach Galifianakis. I am pleasantly surprised with some of the new reveals. It would be too easy to create the same film for the third time. I am not saying this couldn’t still be the case, but I will admit that the third installment of the franchise has the opportunity to do something different. That is refreshing.
Even more entertaining, Part III seems to rely heavily on the Alan character. Considering the comedic genius of Zach Galifianakis, this will pay off in spades. Following the death of Alan’s dad, we can see that he has gone off the deep end. He no longer takes his prescribed medication, and his once tolerable antics are out of control. I loved the Tab commercial while burying his father. What can I say? Sex sells.
So it’s agreed that the Wolfpack needs to come together, and take Alan to a center where he can get the help that he needs. Then, all of a sudden, John Goodman shows up and demands they bring Mr. Chow to him. He keeps Doug as collateral, of course. The journey spans across several exotic locations so the boys can locate, kidnap, and return the elusive Chow. I wasn’t too excited at first, but I can honestly say that I am now. This new trailer has opened my eyes to the comedy trilogy.
As CBS will tell you themselves, quite often and with a bit of smugness, they are “America’s Most Watched Network”. I struggle to see how that is possible given that all their shows seem to be the same – either a predictable crime procedural or a predictable sitcom – but apparently people like predictability because CBS sits on top of ratings and has done so for years. They have a lot of pilots in production, a lot is typical CBS fare (I wonder if Chuck Lorre has naked pictures of Les Moonves somewhere, or he’s just made a deal with the devil that somehow the free world will love his crappy shows) but there are a few that look to be somewhat promising.
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I’m choosing to believe that this one will be better than the typical crime procedural. I don’t know why I’m doing this, but I am. After NBC decided not to go forward with a Dwight centered spin-off of The Office, Rainn Wilson has found himself on CBS playing an “overweight, offensive, irascible detective as he tries, and fails, to change his self-destructive behavior.”
Based on a Swedish series of crime novels,THR has said that the show would take place in Portland which will be interesting to see if they make the city a character itself. Hart Hanson, creator of Bones, is behind this project which is promising. No matter how crappy Bones has become, it started off quite strong and was also based on a series of novels so he’s in familiar territory. Not only that but any show that has Dennis Haysbert is one I will watch.
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If you aren’t watching Raising Hope on Fox, well then you need to remedy that, immediately. Greg Garcia’s show about a man who finds himself a single dad raising his daughter while living with his parents is easily one of my favorites. Add in My Name is Earl and Yes, Dear and it’s safe to say I’m a Greg Garcia fan. So you can only imagine my excitement when I saw he was developing not one, but two pilots this year. They both have potential and some pretty big names attached.
The premise of the unnamed project looks to have similar plot points as Garcia’s Raising Hope given that it’s a grown man living with his parents. This time, however, it’s Margo Martindale (who is perhaps one of the greatest character actresses ever) moving in with her recently divorced son, Will Arnett while her husband, Beau Bridges, moves in with their daughter Mary Elizabeth Ellis who you probably know as the Waitress from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Add in Michael Rapaport and this is a great looking cast.
One has to imagine that Will Arnett is primed to have a commercially successful show. We all know that Arrested Development is a genius show, but his 2010 sitcom, Running Wilde, was also really good but sadly was canceled after one season. Up All Night had potential but has crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. Is this Will Arnett’s time? We’ll have to wait and see.
If Super Clyde doesn’t get picked up and CBS instead opts for another mindless crappy formulaic sitcom, I might cry. I have a feeling I’ll be joined by quite a few Anglophiles and Potterheads.
Ron Weasley is possibly coming to TV and I couldn’t be happier. Rupert Grint stars in the title role of Garcia’s Super Clyde playing the fast-food worker who decides to become a superhero. Everything in that sentence sounds awesome. If I needed more reason to want this show to make it to air, I’d find it in Stephen Fry. Yes, Stephen Fry. That Stephen Fry.
This show is a fangirl’s dream come true!
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Speaking of My Name is Earl and all things Britain, Jason Lee is returning to network TV in a remake of the British crime drama, Second Sight. I’ll admit that I really didn’t think anything of this pilot until I saw the logline.
[quote]Based on the British crime drama, the gothic psychological thriller follows a detective who is suddenly afflicted with an autoimmune virus that causes him to hallucinate about subjects in his subconscious. He soon learns that catching killers depends as much on insight as eyesight.[/quote]
I have not seen any of the British version so I can’t attest to how successful this premise is, but it certainly sounds different and promising. Perhaps a bit of Medium mixed with Ghost Whisperer with a bit of Memphis Beat added in for good measure. Set in New Orleans, much like Backstrom I imagine the city will be a star as well.
Michael Cuesta is behind Second Sight and if his work on the re-imagining of the Israeli show Hatufim (Cuesta is an executive producer of Homeland) is any indication, the production value of Second Sight should be rather high. He’s also worked on this little show called Dexter that has a few fans so he’s no stranger to big shows.
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Lie to Me, Awake, Commander-in-Chief, Lord of the Rings, Ringer
That’s just some of the shows and movies people involved both in front of and behind the camera of The Surgeon General have on their resumes. Given how much I like each of those shows and movies, I imagine that my knowledge of the Surgeon General is going to go beyond this episode of West Wing.
We have to hand it to Jason Issacs who resisted the urge to burn NBC to the ground after his show Awake was canceled. I don’t think anyone would have blamed him as it was as close to a crime as you can get without actually committing a crime. Now he’s moved on over to CBS and is in the lead role as the top doctor in the country, the Surgeon General. His chief of staff is being played by one of my favorites, Kathryn Morris. She’s done a few things here or there but has mostly been unheard of since her show Cold Case went off the air in 2010.
Both Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings obviously) and Mike Colter (Ringer) are listed as doctors but their roles aren’t any more specified than that.
From Samuel Baum, who created Lie to Me, The Surgeon General looks to be like most other political shows but instead of the President, it’s the Surgeon General. Will this be enough to make it seem like a fresh and unique show? Well Rod Lurie is directing that pilot and he did a pretty nice job making a show about the President seem new when he was an executive producer of the canceled before it’s time, Commander in Chief, so chances are good.
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BUFFY IS BACK!!!!!
Okay, well sort of. Sarah Michelle Gellar is back at least. After spending a year over at CW with Ringer (a show people should have stuck with as it got much better as it went on), Gellar is teaming up with a little known actor/comedian named Robin Williams for a workplace comedy about a father/daughter run ad agency.
If Gellar and Williams weren’t enough to pique your interest (seriously?) then some of the other cast will. Hamish Linklater (The New Adventures of Old Christine) will play the agency’s art director and James Wolk (Political Animals) has signed on as a copywriter.
Of course having big on-screen names is great, but having TV royalty behind the scenes is even greater. David E. Kelley might not have hit gold with Harry’s Law but one has to imagine that Crazy Ones will find an audience pretty quickly, even if they are people who are just looking to finally have something to fill that Just Shoot Me! void in their lives.
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So there we go! A somewhat varied group of prospects that hopefully will see the light of day. If for no other reason than perhaps we can see something else besides Big Bang Theory and NCIS promos on the network. That would be a refreshing change.
Grizzly Bomb 